Incorporating Smart Devices To Your Everyday Leisure and

Self-care Routine: For Caregivers and Care Recipients

Presented by

Becca Barham and Robin Cooper

Arlington Adult Day Program

Learning Objectives

• Define frequently used words when discussing technology

• Overview widely used smart devices available on the market

• Discuss 5 types of “smart self care”

• Discuss 4 types of “smart leisure”

• Learn benefits of engaging in various self care and leisure activities

• Overview modifications for self care and leisure without technology

Key Words

• Smart: began as an abbreviation, but has evolved to mean any type of ‘clever’ technology.

• Hack: a slang term used to express ways of making tasks easier

• Smart Hack: Using technology to make tasks easier

• Enable: To make a feature of a device operational; to activate

• Skill: Similar to a smartphone application; a catalogue of various actions a device can be programmed to do.

More Key Words

• Bluetooth

• Program

• Add

• Play

• Stop

• Pause

• Alexa: the name of the amazon echo device or virtual assistant developed by Amazon

• Google: Widely known as a technology company and search engine; also known as the name of the virtual assistant developed by Google Inc.

How To Enable Alexa Skills

1. In the Alexa app, swipe right so you can see the Menu, or click More

2. Tap on Skills & Games

3. Browse or search for what you’re interested in by clicking the magnifying glass

4. Tap Enable To Use on Skills you like

5. Enter your username and password (if required).

6. The skill will be ready to use

About Amazon

Echo

Let’s Compare

Comparison Continued

Comparison Continued

Smart Phones, Computers, Tablets…

Android versus Apple iPhone:According to Digitaltrends*, here is the winner in the following categories:

• Affordability: Android

• Apps and the App Store: iPhone

• Maps: Android

• Battery Life and Charging: Android

• Accessibility: iPhone

• Calls and Messaging: iPhone

• Voice Assistants: Android

• Security: iPhone

“For 2020, the number of smartphone users in the United States is estimated to

reach 275.66 million”

“Smart” Self-CarePart 1

Reminders/Alarms are one of the basic functions of most technological devices and can help us complete important tasks and prevent the stress of forgetting!

”By delegating a task to a list or a device, we can reduce our cognitive load and free up brain capacity for other things.”

Meditation

• Great for caregivers and care recipients alike

• Enable ‘Whisper mode’ for a calmer experience

• Program reminders to take 5 deep breaths every day at a certain time

• Enable free skills such as ‘Guided Meditation’ and ‘Stop, Breathe, and Think’

• Plays over 60 meditations and breathing exercises that are all 3 – 8 minutes long

• New meditations daily

• Play calming music/enable calming music features

• White noise, sounds of nature, birds chirping, ocean, rain

“Alexa, Siri, Google... Remind me to…”

Exercise

• Moderate to High Intensity

• ‘EngAGE Exercise’ is a fitness skill tailored to adults 65 and older to promote strength, balance, and flexibility.

• ‘7 Minute Workout’ – is a fitness skill that offers more variety, more control, and over 45 new exercises to help you achieve your fitness goals.

• Lower Intensity

• ‘Chair Yoga’ is a gentle form of yoga that is practiced sitting on a chair, or standing using a chair for support

1. Ask: “Alexa – speak slower” to desired speed2. Adjust your seat for optimal chair yoga posture3. Ask: “Alexa – open Chair Yoga” then follow (2) prompts

Gratitude

• Enable the ‘Gratitude Journal’ skill

• Ask: “Alexa, Open my gratitude journal” Ask: “Alexa, Add something to my gratitude journal”

• Enable the ‘Gratitude Affirmations’ skill

• Ask: “Alexa, Open/Launch/Start gratitude affirmations”

Follow prompts and participate!

Why Deliberately

Practice Gratitude?

Emergency Care• Enable the free ‘Ask My Buddy’ skill

• Call phone contacts or 911

“Smart” LeisurePart 2

Short-term benefits of laughter

➢ Stimulate many organs. Laughter enhances your intake of oxygen-rich air, stimulates your heart, lungs and muscles, and increases the endorphins that are released by your brain.

➢ Activate and relieve your stress response. A rollicking laugh fires up and then cools down your stress response, and it can increase and then decrease your heart rate and blood pressure. The result? A good, relaxed feeling.

➢ Soothe tension. Laughter can also stimulate circulation and aid muscle relaxation, both of which can help reduce some of the physical symptoms of stress.

Long-term effects of laughter

➢Improve your immune system. Negative thoughts manifest into chemical reactions that can affect your body by bringing more stress into your system and decreasing your immunity. By contrast, positive thoughts can actually release neuropeptides that help fight stress and potentially more-serious illnesses.

➢Relieve pain. Laughter may ease pain by causing the body to produce its own natural painkillers.

➢Increase personal satisfaction. Laughter can also make it easier to cope with difficult situations. It also helps you connect with other people.

➢Improve your mood. Many people experience depression, sometimes due to chronic illnesses. Laughter can help lessen your depression and anxiety and may make you feel happier.

Program reminders, or create routines to take a laughter break every day at a certain time

Humor

Music • Some studies have found that listening to music you enjoy may increase the

release of pleasure-causing substances in the brain like norepinephrine and

melatonin. It may also decrease stress-causing hormone production in the body. As a result, music listening/therapy has

the power to:

➢ Reduce stress/ease anxiety

➢ Improve sleep

➢ Lessen depressed mood

➢ Create positive mood

➢ Boost self-confidence

➢ Increase energy

FREE music is available to all Echo device owners.

PAID (ad-free listening) music options include:

• Amazon Prime Music (free with prime membership at $12.99/month or $10.99 for nonmembers)

• Has 2 million songs

• Amazon Music Unlimited ($7.99/month additional)

• Has over 50 million songs

Ask: “Alexa play music” for a random selection based on your interests

Ask: “Alexa play (a specific song/genre/artist)”

• 50’s, 60’s, Motown, Classical etc.

Let’s March to the Music →

Ask: “Alexa, play marching band” ORAsk: “Alexa, play When The Saints Go Marching In by Louis Armstrong”

Socialization• Care recipients can vocalize and interact

with smart devices

• Slow down or speed up responses

• Enable ‘Brief Mode’ to shorten responses

• With an amazon prime account, you can call others with devices/accounts

• Other ways to talk with technology

• Phone calls, texting, and video chatting

• Whatsapp, Facebook messenger, Skype, Zoom

“Social interaction is healthy, like exercise for the brain,

and can slow symptoms including deteriorating memory.”

Alexa, tell me a joke

Alexa, speak

slower.

Routines

• Alexa routines let you program multiple skills, games, and features to happen automatically

• Routines help you reduce the number of spoken prompts or commands

• Consider adding routines to occur at a specific time each day

• Choose from preset/popular routines or create your own

Popular Routine Times:

➢ Morning

➢ Afternoon

➢ Evening

➢ Home From Work

➢ Bed Time

RoutinesLet’s hear examples of routines made for

a caregiver and a care recipient!

Routine 1:“Alexa, I’m

awake!”

Routine 2:“Alexa, I’m

home!”

One More Leisure Activity:Using The Internet

• Websites and Apps Galore!

• Music/Exercise Videos: Try “Youtube”

• Research videos and soundtracks for anything!

• https://www.youtube.com/

• Reminiscence: Try “Google Earth”

• Type in any address and instantly go there on the web!

• https://www.google.com/earth/

Thank You For Attending!

Resources• https://seniorsafetyadvice.com/how-can-alexa-help-seniors/

• https://www.bustle.com/wellness/188786-5-scientifically-proven-benefits-to-unplugging-from-technology

• https://www.cnet.com/health/the-best-alexa-commands-for-exercise-better-sleep-and-stress-relief/

• https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/ways-play-music-using-amazon-echo

• https://thegadgetflow.com/blog/best-alexa-fitness-apps

• https://www.amazon.com/Caney-Bay-Chair-Yoga/dp/B07CKKZDL1/ref=lp_14284870011_1_12?s=digital-skills&ie=UTF8&qid=1600792447&sr=1-12

• https://www.smarthome.com/

• UMPC Health Beat-music

• https://www.mayoclinic.org/

• https://behavioralscientist.org/

• https://www.dementiacarecentral.com/caregiverinfo/

• https://www.techadvisor.co.uk/how-to/digital-home/how-enable-alexa-skills-3651474/

• https://www.statista.com/aboutus/our-research-commitment